Chapter 14 - We Took the Black Latch Off Together
Months later, Grant asked whether he could do one thing at the house with me.
Remove the shed latch.
I agreed only after Ava’s therapist said it could help if Ava controlled whether she wanted to see it.
She did.
So one Saturday afternoon, the three of us walked into the backyard.
Marianne was long gone from the property.
The garden looked almost offensively normal.
Same hedge.
Same stone path.
Same bench.
Same wooden shed.
Grant carried a screwdriver.
He knelt by the black latch.
Then stopped.
Looked at Ava.
“Do you want me to take it off?”
She nodded.
He unscrewed the first bolt.
Then the second.
When the latch came free, he placed it on the ground.
Ava stared at it.
Then asked:
“Can the door close?”
“Yes.”
“Can it lock?”
“Not from outside anymore.”
She walked to the shed.
Opened the door.
Closed it.
Opened it again herself.
Then she smiled.
A tiny thing.
But it nearly destroyed both of us.
Grant crouched several feet away.
“I’m sorry.”
Ava looked at him.
“For the dark game?”
“Yes.”
She thought about that.
“Don’t do it anymore.”
“I won’t.”
She did not hug him.
Nobody asked her to.
May you like
That promise was enough for that day.
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